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23
2007
Which plastic containers can be recycled?
Filed in: Waste & RecyclingReader Question
I just saw an ad about recycling milk containers and in between those milk containers, I saw laundry detergent bottles, etc… Are those recyclable too and can I put them in the recycling bins with the milk containers?
Monika
Ashley's Answer
Hello Monika,
The short answer to your question is NO. The milk container recycling program was initiated by the Alberta Dairy Council, meaning that they only sponsor the recycling of milk containers. They show the detergent containers because once a food-grade plastic is recycled it must be turned into a non-food-grade plastic product. In essence, the plastic is down-cycled. This happens with a lot of recycled products meaning that there is a limit to the number of times that a product can be recycled. The closed-loop recycling symbol for plastics would be better represented by a downward spiral. That’s the short answer.
If you really want to recycle your non-milk plastics there are a number of curb-side recyclers that offer full-service plastics recycling. It should be noted that these plastics will likely be sent to China where an extensive plastic recycling industry exists. This is partially due to the cheap labour that aids in sorting mixed plastics once they arrive in the harbour, while the other component lies in the fact that plastic manufacturing and recycling is a dirty business and they have rather lax environmental regulations which makes plastic cost effective to recycle. I’m not sure if this is actually a better solution than sending it to our landfills. If we choose the latter option, we must deal with our own waste instead of making it someone else’s problem. I will note that plastics, when put in a landfill, are rather innocuous. Plastics are inert and do not tend to break down in the landfill. This means that they will likely be there for thousands of years.
So what does this all mean? Firstly, I’d really consider what you are purchasing; and try to limit the amount of plastics that you purchase. Secondly, plastics only make up about 9% of our garbage (by weight), while organic waste (food scraps, coffee grounds, etc.) make up about 33%. The reason I point this out is because the biggest problem material in our landfills is organic waste because it produces methane gas while plastics simply persist. This means that if you are trying to get the biggest bang for your buck, I’d start composting. If you are already doing this you are ahead of most people in Calgary and I’d really start focusing on your purchasing behaviours. Finally, if you’ve made the decision that sending plastics to China is better than putting them in our local landfills, then send me an e-mail and I’ll provide you with a list of curbside recyclers. But hey, if humans are still around in a thousand years and we’re hurting for petroleum we can just go to the landfill and dig up all our old detergent bottles, plastic bags, shampoo bottles, margarine containers, peanut butter jars, tennis shoes, track pants, lawn chairs, desks, bubble wrap, etc. You get the point.
Have a great day,
Ashley
Ashley Lubyk, BSc. in Environmental Science, is the founder of the Healthy Homes program at Green Calgary. Please send your environmental questions to Ashley.